UCLA dominates WNBA draft
From Marisa Ingemi: The NCAA national champion UCLA women’s basketball team made history Monday night, with five players selected in the first round of the WNBA draft and six picked overall.
The first Bruin off the board was Lauren Betts, who went No. 4 overall to the Washington Mystics.
Betts’ selection touched off a lengthy Bruins celebration in New York, with UCLA forward Gabriela Jaquez selected No. 5 by the Chicago Sky and teammate Kiki Rice selected No. 6 by the expansion Toronto Tempo.
After a brief break, UCLA forward Angela Dugalic was selected with the No. 9 pick by the Washington Mystics, where she will join Betts.
UCLA guard Gianna Kneepkens completed the Bruins’ record-setting first round when she was selected by the Connecticut Sun at No. 15.
The Bruins’ party continued, with Charlisse Leger-Walker selected with the No. 3 pick of the second round by the Sun.
Sparks surprised, excited to land versatile South Carolina guard late in WNBA draft
Dodgers beat the Mets
From Maddie Lee: Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski threw a gem in the Dodgers’ 4-0 win over the Mets on Monday.
He held the Mets to two hits in eight scoreless innings, the longest start of his pro career. He carried a perfect game into the fifth inning, with his defense backing up his efficient effort.
Shortstop Miguel Rojas fully laid out to his left in the second inning to field a sharp grounder off Bo Bichette’s bat, and then casually threw to first to complete the diving play. Third baseman Max Muncy made a leaping grab on Tyrone Taylor’s third-inning line drive.
Wrobleski made quick work of the rest.
Whatever happened to Julio Urías? ‘Teams ask me about him all the time,’ agent says
Angels fall to Yankees
Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham both homered twice and the New York Yankees scored on a game-ending wild pitch in a three-run ninth inning to overcome Mike Trout’s two homers and five RBIs in an 11-10 win over the Angels on Monday night that stopped a five-game losing streak.
Judge and José Caballero each hit a two-run homer off Yusei Kikuchi for a 4-0 second-inning lead on an unseasonably warm 77-degree night, but Caballero’s error on Trout’s fourth-inning leadoff grounder to shortstop led to four unearned runs.
Grisham’s pinch-hit, three-run homer off Shaun Anderson lifted New York into a 7-4 lead in the fifth. Trout, like Judge a three-time AL MVP, tied the score again with a three-run drive in the sixth against Jake Bird.
Kings clinch playoff spot
Quinton Byfield scored twice, Anton Forsberg made 28 saves and the Kings secured a playoff spot with Monday night’s 5-3 win over the Seattle Kraken.
Trevor Moore, Adrian Kempe and Alex Laferriere also scored for the Kings, who won their fifth straight and are playoff-bound for the fifth consecutive season.
With two games left, the Kings are in position for the second Western Conference wild card and fourth in the Pacific Division, just two points behind second-place Edmonton. The Kings’ victory, combined with Nashville’s loss to San José earlier Monday night, wrapped up their playoff spot and eliminated both the Predators and the Sharks.
Jonathan Quick retires
From Chuck Schilken: New York Rangers goalkeeper Jonathan Quick is calling it a career after 19 NHL seasons and three Stanley Cup championships — with 16 of those seasons and two championships as a member of the Kings.
The 40-year-old goalie told reporters Monday that he would be playing in his final game that night, where the Rangers lost to the Florida Panthers, 3-2. It marked Quick’s 921st game appearance, counting playoffs.
“Tonight will be my last game in the league, and I am looking forward to it,” Quick said after the morning skate ahead at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. “My wife flew down with the kids, my parents will be here. I am looking forward to this last one, try to get one more win here.”
Selected by the Kings in the third round of the 2005 draft, Quick became a fixture in front of the net for L.A. during the 2008-09 season. He was a key member of the Kings’ Stanley Cup champion teams in 2012 and 2014, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs with a 16-4 record, a .946 save percentage and 1.41 goals-against average.
Luka Doncic returns to L.A.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Luka Doncic will be back for the beginning of the Lakers’ playoff run. Just not on the court.
The Lakers’ superstar will rejoin the team by Friday after traveling to Spain to receive specialized treatment on his Grade 2 hamstring strain, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to The Times, but there is no timetable for Doncic’s return to the lineup.
Doncic suffered the injury in a game against Oklahoma City on April 2. A Grade 2 strain typically requires four to six weeks of recovery, but Doncic traveled to Europe to receive injections on his left hamstring with the hope of speeding up the recovery process.
The Lakers (53-29) face the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the first round on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena. The fourth-seeded Lakers are looking for their first playoff series win since 2023.
They are underdogs without Doncic and guard Austin Reaves, who suffered a Grade 2 left oblique strain in the same game. Doncic led the league in scoring with 33.5 points per game. Reaves, the team’s second-leading scorer at 23.3 points per game, was initially expected to miss four to six weeks with his injury, and is working hard to come back, a source told The Times. There is still no official timetable for his retur
How do the Lakers match up against the Houston Rockets entering their playoff series?
Lakers playoff schedule
First round
All times Pacific
Saturday: Houston at Lakers, 5:30 p.m, ABC
Game 2: Houston at Lakers, TBD
Game 3: Lakers at Houston, TBD
Game 4: Lakers at Houston, TBD
*Game 5: Houston at Lakers, TBD
*Game 6: Lakers at Houston, TBD
*Game 7: Houston at Lakers, TBD
*-if necessary
Clippers playoff schedule
Wednesday vs. Golden State, 7:30 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Loser is eliminated, winner advances to second play-in game on Friday, where they will play the loser of the other play-in game. Winner of that game becomes the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
This day in sports history
1928 — The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Maroons for the Stanley Cup, 3-games-to-2.
1931 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup after trailing 2-games-to-1.
1941 — 45th Boston Marathon won by Leslie Pawson in 2:30:38; his third victory in the event.
1948 — The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup in four games as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 7-2.
1955 — Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Detroit Red Wings win back-to-back titles; beat Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 for a 4-3 series victory.
1960 — The Montreal Canadiens win their fifth straight Stanley Cup with a four-game sweep of the Toronto Maple Leafs, including tonight’s 4-0 victory.
1962 — Elgin Baylor scores a record 61 points to lead the Lakers to a 126-121 triumph over the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals.
1968 — Bob Goalby wins the Masters when Roberto de Vincenzo of Argentina is penalized for signing an incorrect scorecard.
1974 — 38th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Gary Player wins the 2nd of his 3 Masters titles.
1985 — Bernhard Langer beats Curtis Strange, Ray Floyd and Seve Ballesteros by two strokes to win the Masters.
1991 — Ian Woosnam of Wales made a par putt to turn back Tom Watson on the last hole and capture the Masters.
1993 — The NHL’s longest winning streak ends at 17 games as the Pittsburgh Penguins settled for a 6-6 tie with the New Jersey Devils on a late goal by Joe Mullen.
1996 — The Detroit Red Wings wrap up the winningest season in NHL history by defeating Dallas 5-1. The Red Wings finished with 62 victories, beating the 60 wins of the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens.
1996 — Greg Norman shoots a startling 78 in the greatest collapse in Masters history, giving Nick Faldo his third green jacket and sixth major championship.
2002 — Tiger Woods becomes the third player to win back-to-back Masters titles. He closes with a 1-under 71 to claim a three-stroke victory over Retief Goosen.
2013 — Adam Scott becomes the first Australian to win the Masters, beating Angel Cabrera on the second hole of a playoff on a rainy day at Augusta National.
2016 — Breanna Stewart leads a UConn sweep of the first three picks in the WNBA draft, going first overall to the Seattle Storm. Moriah Jefferson went second to San Antonio and Morgan Tuck third to Connecticut, the first time in draft history that three players from the same school went 1-2-3. It’s a first in any major sport.
2019 — 83rd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Tiger Woods wins his 5th Masters title by 1 stroke from Xander Schauffele.
2024 — 88th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: World #1 golfer Scottie Scheffler beats Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg by 4 strokes for his second Masters win in 3 years
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1910 — William Howard Taft became the first U.S. president to throw out the first ball at a baseball opener in Washington.
1910 — Chicago’s Frank Smith pitched a one-hitter in the season opener to give the White Sox a win over the St. Louis Browns.
1915 — In the opening game at Philadelphia, left-hander Herb Pennock of the A’s blanked the Red Sox 5-0. He gave up only one hit — a scratch single by Harry Hooper with two out in the ninth.
1917 — Ed Cicotte of the Chicago White Sox pitched an 11-0 no-hitter over the St. Louis Browns.
1925 — The Cleveland Indians opened the season with a 21-14 victory over the St. Louis Browns, the most runs scored by one club on opening day. The Indians scored 12 runs in the eighth inning when the Browns made five errors. Browns first baseman George Sisler had four errors in the game.
1925 — In the first regular-season Chicago Cubs game to be broadcast on the radio, Quin Ryan announces the contest from the grandstand roof for WGN.
1931 — Jack Quinn of the Brooklyn Robins becomes the oldest pitcher to start an Opening Day game at 47 years old.
1961 — The “new” Washington Senators franchise wins its first game, defeating the Cleveland Indians, 3-2.
1964 — Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax throws his ninth complete game without allowing a walk.
1967 — Boston rookie Bill Rohr lost a no-hit bid in his first major league start when Elston Howard singled in the ninth inning for the New York Yankees’ only hit in a 3-0 loss to the Red Sox.
1969 — The first major league game outside the United States was played in Montreal’s Jarry Park with the Expos defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 8-7.
1976 — In the 6th inning of today’s 6-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs, Mets’ Dave Kingman hits what will become widely regarded as the longest home run ever hit in Wrigley Field, estimated at 600 feet.
1991 — Nolan Ryan becomes the 12th pitcher in major league history to surpass 5,000 innings pitched.
1999 — John Franco struck out the side in the ninth inning of the New York Mets’ 4-1 win over the Florida Marlins, becoming only the second pitcher to reach 400 saves. The only reliever with more saves than Franco is Lee Smith, who retired with 478.
2004 — A day after Yankees teammate Mike Mussina earned his 200th victory, Kevin Brown reaches the same plateau.
2005 — Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield got into a brief scuffle with a fan along the right-field fence at Fenway Park during New York’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
2010 — Jorge Cantu homered, making him the first player in major league history to have at least one hit and one RBI in each of his team’s first nine games, and the Florida Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-3.
2014 — Neil Walker and Gaby Sanchez hit back-to-back homers twice, and the Pirates and Reds combined for 10 homers in only six innings before rain forced a suspension. Pittsburgh had three sets of back-to-back homers, only the third time that’s happened in major league history. The NL Central rivals completed the game the next day. Andrew McCutchen doubled and came around on Russell Martin’s single in the seventh inning, giving the Pirates an 8-7 win.
2016 — Bryce Harper makes the 100th home run of his career his first-ever grand slam.
2017 — The Braves open their new ballpark, SunTrust Park, with a 5-2 win over the Padres before a sellout crowd of 41,149.
2021 — Carlos Rodon of the White Sox throws the second no-hitter of the season, blanking the Indians, 8-0.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.